Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal has said that economic development is impossible without peace and stability. He expressed these views while addressing as chief guest the golden jubilee ceremony of Pegham-e-Pakistan, a PTV programme, here at Al Hamra Hall on Saturday. The host Qari Syed Sadaqat Ali, renowned journalist Mujibur Rahman Shami, Chairman Islamic Ideological Council of Pakistan Dr Raghib Hussain Naimi, Chairman Ruiyat Hilal Committee Dr Abdul Khabir Azad, Director General of Awqaf Department Dr Tahir Raza Bukhari, Vice Chancellor Government College University Lahore Prof Dr Shazia Bashir spoke on the occasion,while a large number of people from every school of thought attended the ceremony.
Ahsan Iqbal said that in 2018, an inept person severely damaged the firstphase of CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) project. However, he mentioned, the present government had restored the confidence of China after a lot of hardwork and now China was extending full support to make Pakistan an economic power, but for this it was necessary to establish peace in the country. “If we cannot maintain peace in the country; friendly countries will also move away from us,” he remarked. Ahsan Iqbal said that the entire nation would have to get united to defeat extremism and terrorism on every front. He said that there was a time when Pakistan had been considered the leading country in South Asia. Malaysia and Korea also used to follow the development programmes of Pakistan. He said, “Due to our ignorance and mistakes, we slowly went down, although there is no lack of intellect and talent in the Pakistani nation, the reason is that our individual hard work and ability are not proving effective, thus failing to transform our individual efforts into collective performance.”
